An autoimmune disease is an illness that arises when the tissues of the body are attacked by the body’s own immune system. The immune system is a complex organization within the body that is designed normally to protect the body from invaders, including infectious agents. It is common for patients with autoimmune diseases to have unusual antibodies circulating in their blood that target their own body tissues.
The term “autoimmune disease” actually refers to a varied group of more than 80 known severe, incurable illnesses that can involve nearly every human organ system. In every one of these diseases, the underlying problem is the same, the body’s immune system becomes confused, and attacks the organs that it was created to protect.
Research of autoimmune diseases has not yet uncovered the mechanisms that cause the immune system to “get confused”. According to the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association, one theory is that certain microorganisms and drugs can somehow trigger this communication error in the immune system response, especially in patients with a genetic predisposition to autoimmune disease.
It is possible, for an individual to suffer from more than one autoimmune disease at the same time. In fact, the presence of one autoimmune disease increases the chances of developing additional simultaneous autoimmune diseases. It is also common for members of the same family to have autoimmune diseases, although they often do not have the same autoimmune disease. This may mean that the predisposition for many autoimmune disorders is carried on the same gene.
Autoimmune diseases occur more frequently in women than in men. It is thought that estrogen may influence the immune system, making some women predisposed to develop an autoimmune disease. Since men naturally have significantly lower levels of estrogen that women do, this could be the reason that more women than men develop autoimmune diseases.
Many of the more than 100 types of arthritis and its associated illnesses are considered to be autoimmune related diseases. Rheumatoid arthritis is a common autoimmune disease. Other common autoimmune diseases are: systemic lupus erythematosus, juvenile (type 1) diabetes, celiac disease, Addison’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, alopecia areata, and many more.
